About Hoarding and Squalor

In the context of this website, hoarding means to acquire or have difficulty discarding a large volume of possessions which others would consider useless or of limited value. Since 2013, hoarding has been recognised as a psychiatric condition. It differs from chronic messiness and collecting.

Hoarders may see possessions as important or closer to treasure while others may see them as valueless and closer to rubbish. Hoarding can be viewed as one way to barricading or protecting oneself from the world outside.

People who hoard may have great difficulty discarding possessions and can experience great distress in thinking about discarding or in having accumulated possessions taken away from them.

Hoarding patterns in families suggest that, in some cases, people may have a genetic predisposition to hoarding. The condition can appear as a result of a genetic history of hoarding, ageing related illness, trauma or childhood neglect.

Yes. Hoarding disorder is estimated to affect 600,000 or 2.6% of the Australian population, according to recent research.

While it is difficult to accurately give good estimates of the prevalence of hoarding and squalor in the community due to the hidden nature of many situations, international research in Europe and North America suggests that up to 2% to 5% of the population may exhibit compulsive hoarding behaviours.

Resource: DVD: CCS Consumer Client Videos, produced by CCS. Hear stories from four people who hoard.

emotionally driven reinforcement patterns (i.e. where learning is driven by emotions or acquiring possessions can make people who hoard feel good);

inability to form personal relationships;

cognitive impairment caused by dementia, alcohol-related brain damage (evidence suggests that between half to two-thirds of people living in extreme domestic squalor may be affected by dementia, alcohol-related brain damage, mental health issues); and

mental health issues such as schizophrenia, depression.

For people affected by hoarding, reasons or causes may include:

protection and prevention from other people getting too close;

creates a feeling of security;

strong emotional attachment to items;

a belief that the items are worth valuing and/or might be useful someday;

In the context of this website, squalor is used to describe somewhere that is cluttered, filthy and unclean through neglect. It describes a living environment. Hoarding describes a behaviour, related to a mental health condition.

Hoarding affects people of different ages. Characteristics can begin in childhood with mild symptoms in mid-teens, moderate symptoms in 20s. In adulthood, hoarding can reveal itself after a stressful or traumatic event.

Because of the health and safety risks associated with hoarding and living in squalor, other people, including family members, people living with sufferers, neighbours and communities, are affected by hoarding and squalor situations.